Reading Levels...

"Is your son reading yet?"  We tend to ask each other this question and dread to get an answer.  What if their son is ahead of mine?  What if  their son is reading at a higher level than mine?  Does that make them smarter?  More apt to get ahead in life?  What if..... who cares?

If you go to the nearest college in your state and took a poll as to whether those children  learned to read early, at grade level or late, I bet you would find answers across the board.  Does it matter once you are in college?  Probably each of those children read and process information just fine.  So when does it matter when they mastered the art of reading?

But, as homeschoolers, we put a lot of stock into this question.  We fear that people will look at us, our children's reading level and judge that we are not making the grade.  Where is it written the reading level that each child should read?  Chapter and verse please? 

We need to remember that God made each of us differently.  But He loves us all the same.  But persevering through a difficulty only makes you appreciate that hardship all the more.

Stop and think for a second of the school classroom.  Even there, there are different levels and abilities in reading.  Some kids just seem to "get it."  Some kids don't.  Does that make some smarter and others not by today's standards?  Not so!  Unfortunately our schools are telling our kids where they "should be" but breaking down their spirit in the process.  We make them feel bad and less than perfect.  Shame on us!

My son is so smart.  He is reading a grade behind his level.  But he is enjoying the books he is reading.  Devouring them and asking fabulous questions and showing great comprehension.  Does this mean that he will amount to nothing in life?  Absolutely not!  It just means that he is reading at the level God designed for him.  Only God knows why He has designated this level for my son.  Only God knows what goes on in my son's brain as he reads.  The understanding that takes place there or the connections that are formed.  I am in awe when I think of the complexity of my son's brain and the reason God has him reading below his "grade level." 

Does reading early - say at 3 or 4 - increase a child's IQ?  Not at all.  We need to be careful to label a child gifted when he is really just an early reader.

Our society loves to label all children.  We should be different.  We should accept the level God has placed our child and teach them there.  Why do we worry about what other's think?  It is only God that matters.  When we accept that and stop obsessing, we can truly just enjoy the journey and each milestone our children accomplish.